Review of The Shallows (2016) by Kristofer H — 17 Jul 2016

Proper Perspective: 87 minutes of beautiful scenery and a pissed off shark that may or may not be a realistic embodiment of an ocean stalker with an agenda... It isn't Jaws, but also isn't Deep Blue Sea. Or Shark Take. Or Sharknado. It is fun for what it was trying to achieve.

Other than the obligatory shot of Blake Lively zipping up her wet-suit to her bra line and then pausing for effect, this movie was not about the "assets" as much as one would think. Here is the premise: Blake Lively needs to get away from her personal drama, she is also in medical school because the plot has to move forward with characters whose professions nudge it along, and while surfing on a "secret beach" she is attacked by a territorial shark. Then, 127 Hours in the water ensues.

Lively is fine in this role. It could have been brought more to life with a Brie Larson or Carey Mulligan or Imogen Poots, but Lively was fine. There is not a lot of dialog or character to sink your teeth into with this movie, so maybe that explains the casting. What pushes this movie along is the scenery, the shark, and the tension in moments. Nobody is winning an Oscar for The Shallows.

I will say that there is a character in the opening scene where Lively is being taken to the beach by a local, Carlos (Oscar Jaenada), who had the most personality of any character in the whole movie. He was great. The dialog in that scene was sort of cringe worthy, but humorous. Jaenada was great in this small, but fun role.

The best part about this movie is that despite taking what feels like too much time getting to the main event, the shark, to set up a backstory for us to care about, is the run-time. The movie is 87 minutes of popcorn, some laughs, good tension, beautiful scenery, and a few gnarly scenes with the shark. The other best part is Steven Seagull who is the bird equivalent to the puppy in John Wick. Cute, but cute with a purpose to the plot.

This is an enjoyable time in the theaters, or on every pay cable channel for the next, forever. It is short and easily adaptable for television. Have some fun with the best shark movie since Jaws, which is apparently compliment enough for this movies marketing team.